Friday, December 22, 2017

"My Fisherman's Pie gives you flaky cod mingled with spinach in a garlic and lemon-scented sauce underneath a
browned crust of creamy, buttery potatoes on top. It really does taste fantastic." I don't know who Chef John is.Ingredients

1 Bring a large saucepan of salted water and to a boil; add russet potatoes to boiling water and cook until
very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Mash in 3 tablespoons butter until thoroughly combined.
Season with nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Mash 1/2 cup milk into potato
mixture until smooth.

2 Drizzle olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add spinach, and season with a big pinch of
salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl lined with
paper towels to wick away excess moisture.

3 Heat 3 tablespoons butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk mixture to a smooth paste.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has a nutty smell and is slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add
chopped garlic; whisk until fragrant, 10 to 20 seconds.

6 Season buttered pan with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Lay boneless cod fillets into the pan in a
single layer. Season tops of fillets with more salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Spread spinach
evenly over fish and drizzle with lemon juice. Spoon white sauce over spinach; give casserole dish several
taps and shakes to eliminate bubbles.

7 Drop mashed potatoes by heaping spoonfuls over the casserole and spread smoothly to cover. Place dish
onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch spills.

8 Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes. Turn on oven's broiler and broil until potato
crust has a golden brown top, about 2 minutes. Fish should flake easily. Let stand 10 minutes before
serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of chives.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

I made this a few summers ago and it's really good if you hate salad, or even find it hard to get enthusiastic about. My guess is this serves 2 people.

a container of arugula or spinach or red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 large head of fennel aka anise
2 potatoes (or one head of cauliflower in one inch florets)
1 avocado
1 ripe large tomato (or two little ones)
half a pound of sweet italian sausage
one lime
cumin
chili powder
oregano
garlic (optional)
olive oil
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Cut the stems off the head of the fennel bulb, cube the bulb in half inch dice.
2. Peel the potatoes and cube them in one inch dice/break the head of cauliflower into one inch florets.
3. Get a glass pan and toss the fennel and cauliflower with: 2 T or more olive oil, salt and pepper, 2 t cumin, 2 t chili powder, and half a teaspoon oregano (crush it with your fingers over the veggies). Toss. Roast for 20 minutes, then stir, roast another 20 minutes, take out of oven, let cool on the stovetop while you do the rest.
4. In a pan, heat olive oil at medium high/7 until it's a got a little haze on it. Turn on stovetop fan. Saute the sausages in their skins 3-4 minutes a side, then lower heat to medium low and put a cover on it with 1/4 cup water to really steam the pork all the way through. Set aside on a paper towel.
5. In a container you can shake up, put 1/4 olive oil, juice of one whole lime, a clove or two of garlic minced, 1 t cumin, 1 t chili powder, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper. Shake! Taste and add salt if you need to.
6. Slice up the tomato and avocado.
7. On each plate: make a bed of lettuce, put the tomato and avocado on one side all decorative-like, and then put the potatoes/cauliflower on the other side and put the sausage on top.
8. Pour dressing on with a spoon. It's easy to get too much, so be careful.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

There are a lot of copycat recipes for Chipotle's chili lime rice. I often wondered how it was made and assumed there was cilantro and maybe some lime in it. I've looked up recipes by wonderful cooks who suggest adding a bay leaf to the rice when it cooks, who suggest using basmati rice instead of long grain (which is what Chipotle seems to use). One recipe even suggests using two parts lime juice and one part lemon juice (used on 2 cups of cooked rice). Lots of rinsing, etc.

This summer I saw the line chef make the white rice. Twice! She made two batches so I watched her like a hawk. She dumped the hot rice (which did not seem wet, which did not seem like it had been rinsed) into a big metal bowl, added oil, added a decent amount of what looked like kosher salt or salt, cilantro and lime. If I were going to guess, she was mixing about 3-4 cups worth of cooked rice with

She tossed it all together pretty seriously for a minute or two. Then she shouted "RICE READY" and everyone said "THANK YOU!!!" to her. That was nice, even if it was their corporate policy to say those things, probably.

*

I do not have a lime, my lime died RIP.

So I made basmati rice and put in olive oil, kosher salt and chopped cilantro. Definitely the lime is missing, but this was pretty great. Has a good consistency and flavor and takes up my black beans well.

I did go to a mexican restaurant in a small town and it was so awesome, carrot and sweet potato and green pepper hash and so on. And then there was a bunch of sides but the lime cilantro rice was parboiled brown rice that had gotten hard. :-(

Brown onion in the butter. Add beans and let roast. Add wine before beans get too dry, and spices. After alcohol has boiled off, add brussel sprouts and water and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Let stand. Serve over pasta or rice or whatever.